Prtizker taps Bertino-Tarrantfor educational success committee

State Sen. Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, D-Shorewood, was named as a member of Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker's Educational Success Committee.

Pritzker announced the formation and members of the committee as a part of his transition last week in Chicago according to a press release.

The committee is the seventh of several working groups of the transition made up of subject-matter experts who will advise and guide the incoming administration. State Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, state Rep. Emanuel "Chris" Welch, Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson and Illinois Education Association President Kathi Griffin will chair the committee made up of 35 members.

"Every child in this state deserves a quality education — regardless of the color of their skin, the zip code they come from, or the income of their parents," Pritzker said in the release. "The transition's Educational Success Committee will confront the challenges students, parents and teachers face head on and with fierce urgency. If we want to put Springfield back on the side of working families, we must give every student the opportunities they deserve."

The rest of the team consists of legislators and education administrators, professionals, and executives.

Bertino-Tarrant chairs the Senate Education Committee. She is a former teacher, principal and Will County Regional Superintendent. She has a bachelor's from Illinois State University, master's from the University of St. Francis in Joliet and a Doctorate of Education from Loyola University.